By Richard C. Longworth, Senior Fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs - July 18, 2012
The Chicago region’s three urban anchors – Chicago, Milwaukee and Gary – could profitably cooperate on worker training, transport, and the like. But you could say that about any neighboring cities anywhere.
What makes Chicago, Milwaukee and Gary unique is the enormous national resource in their front yard. Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes hold 21 percent of the planet’s fresh water, at a time when much of that planet is drying out.
In 20 years, if anyone wants to live, work or invest in a place with a reliable supply of fresh water, it’s here. It’s time this Lake Michigan megalopolis got ready for it.
Milwaukee is already off and running. The city has become a world water hub through its Water Council, through the Water Institute and new School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and through other local players, such as Marquette University.
But Milwaukee itself says that any number can play. There’s enough water to go around, and too many opportunities for one city to seize. Leaders there talk about a Great Lakes water initiative that could leverage other work going on in other lakeside cities and universities.
To start, how about intensive collaboration on water issues between Milwaukee, Chicago and Gary, plus other cities in the region.
Start by doing what Milwaukee did – survey of local companies already working on water solutions. Milwaukee thought it would find 50 such companies: instead, it found 120, making freshwater-related gear such as pumps, valves, and tanks, or dealing with problems such as waste water.
That led to a Water Summit, which led to the Water Council, which sends delegations around the world to promote Milwaukee’s water potential and hosts many more delegations from other countries, all seeking help in a drier world.
What’s going on in water industries in Chicago or Gary? What universities research water problems? What companies exist to solve them? What companies will need fresh water in the future and will locate here to use this resource?
Nobody knows. Outside of Milwaukee, nobody’s tried to find out.
Water created Milwaukee, Chicago and Gary. The cities exist because they’re on the lake. Water literally built the region’s great industries – not just steel but brewing and food processing, too.
Those industries no longer drive the region’s economy, but the water is still here. Now as in the past, it holds the key to the region’s vitality.
Richard Longworth is senior fellow at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and author of Caught in the Middle: America’s Heartland in the Age of Globalism, on the impact of globalization on the American Midwest. Founded in 1922 as The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, the Council is one of the oldest and most prominent international affairs organizations in the United States. Independent and nonpartisan, The Chicago Council is committed to influencing the discourse on global issues through contributions to opinion and policy formation, leadership dialogue, and public learning.
On Wednesday, July 25, MPC hosted our 2012 Annual Luncheon: The Cities That Work, featuring an insightful dialogue between the mayors of Gary and Milwaukee, about opportunities to strengthen the tri-state region. Leading up to the event, we featured a series of posts from guest authors and members of our staff on issues that unite the tri-state region. Read the whole series at www.metroplanning.org/citiesthatworkseries.